15 Reasons the Warriors Are Playing Better Defense

Pick your defensive statistic — they’re all trending in the same direction. The Warriors are allowing 98.3 points per game compared to 101.2 the year before. Opponents are shooting .432 from the field (5th best in the NBA), down from last season’s .453. Opponent three point percentage is down (.333 vs. .365), as are points per shot (1.17 vs. 1.23). The one statistic trending up? Wins — with the team 16-8 today vs. 10-14 this time last year. While the improved Warriors’ defense is easy to quantify, it’s a bit trickier to explain. Here are 15 factors I’ve flagged as contributing to the improvement.

Defense, like all wonderfully complex systems, can’t be meaningfully analyzed by breaking it down into component parts. It’s the interplay of pieces that is so significant, so this enumerated list is inherently artificial. It’s not any one of these changes that’s making the difference, but all of them. With that caveat, here’s my take on the reasons for defensive improvement over last season, in rough order of significance.

1. The departure of Monta Ellis — The former Warrior had the raw skills to be an excellent defender, but never played with the discipline needed in a team defensive system. He always gambled, he freelanced on the ball rather than securing his man, and he never grasped basic spacing needed to make sure he was in a position to deny an easy stroll to the basket. His individual defensive failings infected the entire team, because his teammates naturally attempted to compensate for him. They switched to cover the man he abandoned. They dropped off their own men to block lanes to the basket. So long as Ellis was logging minutes for the Warriors, they weren’t going to play consistently good team defense — the kind that produces bad shots and stops in crunch time, not just the occasional steal. His departure in the Andrew Bogut trade was the beginning of the Warriors’ transformation, but it took a little time to see results because of point number 2.

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2. Trying to win, not lose, games — When the Warriors traded Ellis for an injured big man, it also signaled the end of their desperate attempt to sneak into the 2011-12 playoffs. They immediately fell off the pace because they were short-handed, then started taking more dramatic steps to secure wins once they realized they might be able to keep their draft pick. Want to ensure that you’re not going to be playing sophisticated defense? Try starting five rookies, as the Warriors did in their final game. That may have been the most egregious example, but for much of the second half of the season the Warriors were undersized and undermotivated. The stats from that period are naturally going to be abysmal and don’t reflect the true potential of the team. They’re much improved this year, but last year’s stats were artificially depressed by tanking.

3. Improved defensive rebounding — The Warriors currently have the best defensive rebounding percentage in the league (.756). Last year? A horrific .691. That means for every 100 opponent shots that miss, the Warriors are securing more than 6 more this year than they did last year. That, in turn, translates into fewer second and third looks for opponents. By cutting down on scoring opportunities, the Warriors are increasing their margin for error. Who deserves credit? The entire team. David Lee has been a rebounding machine, but Draymond Green has an elite rebounding rate in limited minutes and Carl Landry has provided another big body to help clean the glass. Festus Ezeli has helped by taking up space down low. Smaller players like Harrison Barnes, Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry and Jarrett Jack have all had some impressive rebounding performances. They team clearly has made rebounding fundamentals a priority — they’re boxing out and not leaking out — and they’re seeing results.

4. Reduced switching — The Warriors were previously one of the quickest teams in the NBA to switch when confronted with screens. It’s unclear how much of that was by design as opposed to players’ natural tendencies (see point 1), but this year things have been different. The Warriors’ players have been smarter chasing their men, recognizing when they need to fight through screens and when they can cut under them. As a result, they’re able to stick closer to their men and need less help in the form of switches. The team isn’t resorting to desperation zones as much, trusting that the individual defenders hold their own. As a result, we’re regularly seeing some impressive mano-a-mano showdowns. Draymond Green vs. LeBron James was the most high profile one, but Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Stephen Curry and David Lee have all had nice nights where they took their individual opponents out of the offensive flow. In a more abstract sense, that sense of individual responsibility may have contributed to the improved defense. The players can no longer hide behind the anonymous failure of a group — if player X gets lots of easy baskets, the coaching staff (and fans) can isolate player Y as the problem.

5. Training camp — A small point, but not one to be dismissed. Mark Jackson and Mike Malone took over the Warriors last season with almost zero time in training camp. This year, they had a full camp and a well-defined rotation from the start. Losing Rush and Bogut no doubt forced some changes on the fly, but there was time before the season for actual instruction. We’re getting a chance to see their full system put in place, not just some stopgap measures instituted on the fly.

6. Keeping the bigs down low — In addition to the reduced switching, the Warriors have changed how they’re guarding the pick and roll. Rather than running David Lee (or Andris Biedrins or Festus Ezeli) out to the top of the key to try to cut off and obstruct the ball handler, they’re playing a truer formation where they stay home, closer to the basket, and trust the on-the-ball defender to make the necessary adjustments. As a result, the Warriors are packing the middle more and providing fewer easy looks at the basket. They won’t have a shot-blocking presence until Bogut returns, but they’re at least keeping their big bodies between the ball and the rim. In the Atlanta game, for example, Lee and others repeatedly frustrated attempts by the Hawks’ bigs to get to the rim simply by forcing them to adjust their path on the way to the basket. It wasn’t as dramatic as a blocked shot, but it was effective enough in raising the degree of difficulty on the shot to throw the Hawks off their game and leave them retreating to the perimeter.

7. Draymond Green — If you want one anecdote to sum up how things have changed this year for the Warriors, it’s the story of Jarrett Jack coming back to the huddle after being beaten on penetration by Ty Lawson. Jack told Green to step over and provide help. Green, according to owner Joe Lacob, told Jack “you’ve got to stay in front of your man.” Jack responded that these “are NBA players, they’re quick.” To which Green sensibly answered, “you’re an NBA player too.” The toughness Green brings to the court has been revolutionary. The demeanor of the team still changes every time he checks into the game. He’s an outstanding one-on-one defender — surprisingly quick laterally and thick enough to hold his own against bigger men. His basketball IQ is off the charts — he knows how to switch, when to fill empty space and where to do the most damage in the passing lanes. Finally, given Green’s horrifically ugly offensive game, the fact that he’s playing at all — let alone for 20-plus minutes a night on a regular basis — shows that Mark Jackson and his coaching staff are placing greater emphasis on defense. Green’s contributions aren’t just being recognized, they’re being rewarded with more time on the court.

8. Closing out on shooters — It’s a simple move, but its absence was previously one of the telltale signs of the Warriors’ utter disregard for defense. Once upon a time, the Warriors’ guards rarely ran out at shooters on the perimeter. They even more rarely put a hand up in the shooters face. As a result, teams regularly put on shooting clinics (“Opponent X can’t shoot any better from the field!”) against the Warriors. While there are still lapses, I’ve been impressed with the effort Curry, Jack, Thompson and Barnes show when they’re caught out of position against a jump shooter. They scramble to close the distance and recover. They’ve worked on getting a hand up without drawing those insult-to-injury swipe-the-arm fouls. It’s not rocket science. It just takes awareness and effort. The Warriors’ backcourt players have shown both, and it’s making a difference.

9. Pairing David Lee with a second big — There’s a difference between playing David Lee at center next to Carl Landry or Festus Ezeli as opposed to Dorell Wright or Brandon Rush. There are pluses and minuses to Lee’s minutes at center, but one of the big drawbacks when he was paired with someone like Wright or Rush at power forward (as the Warriors did regularly last year in their small-ball line up) is that there’s no other big body to rotate over and clog the middle. So when Lee was pulled out of position last year, it was a feeding frenzy around the rim — particularly if the shot missed and Lee too far out to contend for the rebound. Landry, Ezeli and even Green are able to fill space and clean the glass when Lee is pulled out of the interior. Having other rebounding options has made the 2012-13 brand of small ball more successful than its predecessors (although big teams like the Magic have had no trouble exposing its vulnerabilities).

10. Stephen Curry, deflector — Mark Jackson rightfully drew some chuckles when he called Stephen Curry an elite defender earlier this season. Curry’s not, and Jackson’s imprecise bluster recalled the empty boasts of last season. But when Jackson later clarified what he meant, he revealed one of the subtle, significant changes the coaching staff has made this season in its approach. While Curry may not be quick enough or strong enough to completely cut off penetration by opposing guards, he can get to a spot where he can force them into the teeth of the Warriors’ defense. By aiming to deflect opponents’ penetration, rather than gambling to stop it by a steal or attempting to cut it off entirely (and fouling when he arrives late), Curry has matched his natural abilities with a smart strategy. The results have been impressive — fewer fouls for Curry and fewer big nights for opposing point guards. This type of adjustment is only possible if you trust your teammates to recognize the changes they need to make in response to it. In the disarray of the Ellis-lead teams, it would have been a disaster. But with this more disciplined squad, it’s been a nice solution to one of the team’s bigger defensive weaknesses.

11. Jarrett Jack — Jack’s individual defense has been fine, but what’s impressed me the most is his late-game poise. As part of the closing group (along with, typically, Curry, Thompson, Green or Landry and Lee), Jack has been called upon to be the first on-the-ball defender in crunch time. In those late-game situations, he ramps up the pressure on opposing ball handlers, forcing them to initiate the offense under fire. It ways endlessly frustrating in years past when the Warriors would allow teams to set up their half-court sets late in the game without any sort of added degree of difficulty. Jack has shown a nice balance between making life more difficult, but not committing needless fouls in the process. His veteran presence has produced lots of intangible benefits, but the most significant may be the extra sense of urgency and focus the team has shown when the game is on the line. Jack’s a gamer.

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12. Stopping the ball on the break — Again, a painfully simple skill that the Warriors had completely ignored in the past. When teams try to run against you, make sure someone steps into the path of the ball-handler to slow them down. You could make endless Youtube highlight (lowlight?) films of opponents strolling down the lane off controlled breaks for easy lay ups. The Warriors in the past just didn’t communicate as they set up the defense, and were blissfully unaware of their men until they finished their jog down to the other end of the court. This year, there’s a noticeable increase in communication as soon as the ball is inbounded, and players are hustling to keep easy transition baskets to a minimum.

13. Harrison Barnes — The rookie hasn’t had the defensive impact of Draymond Green, but that’s not to say he’s been a disappointment. Just the opposite. From what I’ve seen, Barnes has both the skills and awareness to be an above average defender in the league. He surprises opponents with his reach, fights to stay with his man and rarely drifts aimlessly as rookies often do. As he gains confidence, strength and experience, I expect his defense to continue to improve. The Warriors made finding two-way players a priority. While Barnes’ calling card likely will be his offense, he’s not giving up points at the other end as easily as he scores them.

14. Mark Jackson’s rotation — This isn’t to say Mark Jackson’s coaching is only the 14th reason the Warriors have improved defensively. His coaching (and that of his staff) touches every single one of these reasons. But one adjustment that is solely Jackson’s call is when he subs players in and out of the game. His now-settled rotation pulls David Lee with a few minutes to go in the third quarter and re-inserts him with around eight minutes to go in the fourth. By buying his star power forward an extended rest before the final minutes of the game, Jackson has successfully obtained more aggressive late-game performances from him. Lee’s showing a high-level of energy late in games not just on offense, but by battling with opponents in the low post for defensive position and rebounds. We can quibble over minute allotments (I tend to think a few more minutes for Jenkins could help ease the load on Curry), but by not running his starters 40+ minutes a night, Jackson has helped them save a little bit extra for defense when it matters most.

15. Players’ expectations — At the risk of diving into a chicken-or-the-egg analysis, the Warriors are winning because they’re playing better defense, but they’re also playing better defense because they’re winning. Both positive and negative momentum can snowball, and the recent taste of victory seems to have increased this team’s focus. They recognize now that they have a chance to compete with the better teams in the NBA, and it seems to have encouraged nearly everyone on the roster to tighten up their games. When you’re a guaranteed lottery team, there aren’t many reasons (other than pride) to put in extra effort fighting through screens and closing out on shooters. But when you’re confident that you can compete with the top tier of the NBA, suddenly those little things become the difference between winning or losing. The Warriors have raised the expectations for themselves, and with it appears to have come greater pride in their defense. They’re not always living up to those expectations, but they’re at least aiming for something better than “let’s hope we can score more points than we give up.” The ownership, front office, coaching staff and players all deserve credit for this new environment.

Given their history, the Warriors’ defensive improvement has been one of the unexpected stories of this NBA season. But the story isn’t finished. With Andrew Bogut hopefully returning sooner or later, this team has a chance to become even stronger and more versatile on the defensive end. Even if Bogut doesn’t play this year (which would be a huge disappointment), the trade to land him still stands as the turning point in this team’s defensive approach. The Warriors are finally finding balance — and with it, wins.

Adam Lauridsen

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Be curious to see how are ‘vaunted defense’ plays this very mobil & athletic big?

Gmoney

I haven’t had any beef with NBF because I am also a big fan of Nellie and I agree with a lot of his basketball takes. That being said, when he does make an appearance the blog invariably switches topics and its all about him. What he said, what he did, who said what to him, and I have to say, as a regular on this forum, its tiring.

I won’t get into who starts it, but I know that by addressing him personally you continue it to the point where we start discussing who on the blog has been rude in the past. I mean its pretty ridiculous. Just address the basketball if you must and stay away from addressing him personally. There are far more interesting topics to discuss than what was said on this blog a year ago.

…scotch

gmoney/dr_john

meier’s been mentioned often today, how is he doing?

Well I hope…

bryhsiao

Strummer,
I understand where you are coming from.
I’ve always included why I did not like Lee’s signing in all those qualifiers.

No player is perfect. And we hampered the deal because of multiple reasons, not because Lee’s stats were not good. Actually his stats and production were always good except his defense was consistently bad.

I dont remember you posting much before, but I remember many here wanted a post-up bruiser and enforcer down low. And Lee’s signing did not give us that.

But heck look what we signed this year, Carl Landry. ( a better version of BBass) and how much that had changed Warriors and how Lee plays next to him this year.

I am not always right but I believe those “qualifiers” were laid done with context that with Lee’s contract, we would be lucky to have a monster big PF/C.

heck, somehow we got Landry at 4M, Bogut from Monta (both we thought would not happen ever)

And the coaching emphsis on D helped even more to hide Lee’s shortcoming in his ability to help defend. Also the coaches insisted to pair Lee with some defensive Bigs (Green, Landry, Ezeli, AB) instead of playing him solely at C.

Lee first joined us != Lee this year with all the supporting cast we are now lucky to have.

I would say you guys are great to stick with Lee back then but some of us who opposed it had reasons and now it also validated we were right with those contexts.

The need back then was not the need for this team right now.

Even TK acknowledges in his recent post, he is a fan of Lee’s much improved individual defense and the new team defensive scheme.

Gmoney

Scotch, I am on an email string with Meir and that guy hasn’t slowed down a bit. I have 15 emails a day in my inbox with links to all sorts of interesting stories. He is still truckin and those articles are helpful when the work boredom creeps in.

Livermore

Touche NBF.

There are a number of individual posts that have no value but to inflame, defame, un-name, re-name. None are of any value and ALL detract.

dr_john

nbf

The “clinkers” comment is based on Lee’s wp48 numbers for two years:

2010-11 = 0.81
2011-12 = 0.43

In Wins Produced parlance, 0.100 represents an “average” player’s production. Not the Mean, the Average.

These are the only two sub-average years for Lee in his career—by this metric.

The selection of a couple of boxscore stats, to the exclusion of the others, and not adjusting for position is simply a way of not acknowledging your opponent in a debate. And in any real debate, your opponent would point this out to the judges, and you would lose.

You would be better served to take the argument on, for example by discrediting the wp48 stat. I’d get that. But your dodge is being pointed out now—perhaps you did not understand my point.

And remember, I’ve accepted and supported the Lee deal. But that’s irrelevant to why I said “clinkers”. I think the fans actually could see the difference between a few stats and his overall game, which has surely returned to what we expected and hoped for in the wake of the trade.

carb1

How do you guys have so much time to spend on this? This blog was a lot more fun to check in on a couple days ago

nelliesbiggestfan

bry and I obviously don’t like each other and that’s not going to change. What mucks up the blog even worse is when someone like livermore jumps in with some fake judgement that I’m to blame and then I have to respond to that as well. It’s a big waste of space on the blog and it doesn’t accomplish anything.

Slimman

You’re a waste of space on the blog. I wish you’d simply go away like you promised. I used to not get int personal spats at all here but I’ve grown so tired of reading your persecuted genius victim routine while you lump everyone who doesn’t agree with you into one basket. You are a loser, and will always be one. Personal enough for you?

Mopedelic

Dr. John:

If 0.81 and 0.43 are below average in the wp48 metric, it does not come immediately to mind that 0.100 represents an average NBA player. 1.00 perhaps?

nelliesbiggestfan

dr. john

you sure do like that WP48 stat but I’m sure you know it is just one stat. It isn’t any better or worse that any other, even if you think so. Correct me if I’m wrong but if 1.00 is average then .43 means that in that year about 75% NBA players were better than Lee, according to the stat. I find that very hard to believe.

I looked into the WP48 stat and what do you know it is frequently accused of overvaluing rebounding. The writers at the wages of wins say that everyone else undervalues rebounding. What a coincidence, that’s how you feel about rebounding. No wonder you like that stat. I looked at Lee’s worst year (.43) and there were many players with much higher WP48 stats that don’t belong in the same gym as Lee, including our own Dominic Mcguire. I watched Lee play during those years and I though he was a lot better than you did. Glad you like your stat but I’m not impressed.

Lee may have slipped those two years but to call those seasons “clinkers” is a bit much IMO. And if WP48 was a great a state as you say why aren’t those guys who invented it rich and famous ?

nelliesbiggestfan

will someone who is in charge of policing personal attacks please arrest slimman. Or are we not worrying about being nice to each other anymore? let me know , I’m so confused.

dr_john

@…scotch:

I haven’t seen many blogs that lead off with the same sort of thoughtful presentations. The volume of participation also sets this blog apart.

Sets the table nicely. And it’s fine to take issue with the host, who has an extremely high tolerance for free speech in my opinion.

But sometimes, although I appreciate having more than just a one-sentence lead-in, sometimes the thread topic is just not really what’s on my mind.

So the variety of topics that sprout up are good, I think.

As long as we remember to appreciate the work behind the blog by its host.

Mopedelic

Reading some of today’s posts is as exciting as reading on the pathogenesis of STDs.

believewhat

nbf,

Just go away man, all you want is to pick on people. You pretty much has become a virus on this blog, you really are here only to disagree and point fingers like a little girl. No one is going to arrest slimman, but you can go away so you don’t have to worry about slimman, livermore, myself, bry etc.. I don’t know why were you even bringing meir into all this, which has again nothing to do with you.

nelliesbiggestfan

a defiant bry writes “you got nothing on me” If that’s true why is he doing so many backflips trying to explain why he didn’t want the Lee deal.

I have a lot on bry and it’s getting worse for him all the time. He writes what he thinks MJ should do, MJ does the opposite and the warriors win. Bry still pushes for PT for Ezeli, who is getting worse , not better.

All bry can do is wait for a loss and then rip the coach for what he should have done. But to get away with that you have to have some credibility, and bry has none. What has bry been right about ?

warrior23

I have been playing , coaching, and watching basketball for the better part of 30 years and continue to struggle with warrior fans so hell-bent on slamming players and anointing others when the record shows for the past 3 years that this team has a losing record.
> Now we will grant you that 16-8 and winning so very impressive games this year has to be recognized, but what we don’t recognize is the fans that now come on here and do the ” I told you so act” since getting off to this rare hot start.

Let’s just wait a bit that’s all and we don’t need to uppity holier than though arrogance displayed toward posters with other viewpoints no matter how rational they might be.

This is the warriors people, somehow and someway something will go wrong with this team, you have to have this viewpoint because they haven’t proven otherwise. A season isn’t 24 game ; it is 82.

you all act like you just won a world title with the best backcourt ever in the history of basketball which was also said by fitzgerald when ellis and curry were on the team. If you want to go back through all the game tape and radio broadcasts of bob saying this you can because he can’t run from it.

believewhat

dr.,

On tonight’s game,

“I doubt New Orleans defense can track the Warrior ball movement.

Pace adjusted Warriors by 8, but with a focused effort at home by the Dubs:

Warriors 104, Hornets 92″

There is one caveat. The team is planning big welcome to our road heroes. So, they will be really energized. I see one of the two things happenings, dubs come out blazing and a blow out ensued or dubs force too many early shots, get into funk and then get back to the game. So, I expect a blow out or close game. It would be either 110-85 or 98-95. Let us see.

dr_john

The Wages of Wins actually goes out of its way to refute the mis-perception that the stat overvalues rebounds. So you should read up a bit on that.

Yes I do see a clear correlation between years of Warriors’ suckitude and failure to rebound.

I think Warrior fans are delighted with 16-8 and would be disgusted with being again at the bottom of the league in rebounds differential again— I would.

Mopedelic: thank you for pointing out my typos: 0.081 and 0.043. Average is indeed 0.100 per 48 minutes.

believewhat

From Thorpe, ESPN insider:

—

Mark Jackson and defense

Having gone 8-2 over their past 10 games, the Golden State Warriors epitomize why I continue to say the NBA is a coach’s league. Head coach Mark Jackson has been the difference this season.

The Warriors went 6-1 during a brutal seven-game road trip, losing only in Orlando on Dec. 14. This season, armed with a real offseason and training camp — as well as a normal routine instead of last season’s compressed schedule — Jackson has had more time each week for practice and film study — a must for such a young team. Just look at the results; under Jackson’s tutelage, the Warriors are 16-8.
Stephen Curry
Kyle Terada/US PresswireStephen Curry and his teammates now scheme nightly on the defensive front.

Before the season started, most experts looked at the Warriors and saw nothing different from the same old Warriors — a team that has always been known for fast-paced offense and one of the league’s worst defenses.

After all, look at point guard Stephen Curry, all 175 pounds of him, add a skinny shooting guard in Klay Thompson and a thin power forward in David Lee — as well as a motley crew of centers — and you get lots of outside shooting without a whole lot of toughness. In fact, one might guess that with the quality shooters the Warriors have, they’d be winning games with their offense.

Instead, Jackson has them rebounding with passion and pride, and playing hard-nosed defense. They are focused nightly on making things difficult for opposing shooters. They have one mission — limiting opposing offenses to one shot on each possession. Make no mistake, this is not a team looking to create chaos. So they don’t get many steals or blocked shots. But what they do get is stops, thanks to a physical mindset that comes directly from Jackson.

Ask yourself this question: Would this team be the best defensive rebounding team in basketball if Mike D’Antoni was the head coach? No. Maybe they would lead the league in offense, or just perimeter shooting, because of the offense he would run to utilize young shooters Curry and Thompson. But lead the league in rebounding and overall toughness? No way. And yet, that’s what Jackson has done.

What’s impressive about Golden State is that this is only the second phase of Jackson’s plan. The Warriors are defending hard and rebounding, but to get them to play with that kind of energy, Jackson has to give up something. Indeed, the Warriors hack a lot of people. They are fighting to be a top-five team every week in defensive field goal percentage (and likewise from the 3-point line), but they are in the bottom five in free throws allowed.

This is why they are not yet considered a complete top defensive team. Chicago, now seasoned at playing this type of defense, can be a top-three defensive field goal percentage team as well as rank among the leaders in fewest free throws allowed. Defenses must crawl before they walk, and the Warriors are almost there. Still, no one is complaining, because this newfound toughness and overall identity is what helped the Warriors accomplish their recent run of success.

warrior23

I read a few articles on the internet that fitzgerald tries to cozy up with hand picked players on the team telling them basically that he won’t say anything negative or critical about them in order to pander and beg for their friendship.

Then within those articles he will actually backstab the very same players he highly praised and downplay their talents and criticize them acting as if they never had future value to the warriors.

he probably will do this when Ellis plays the warriors or he will be able to analyze in some form or fashion that ellis just wasn’t the right fit ..

so remember people fitzgerald is directly quoted and/or close to directly admitting before that ellis and curry should not be broken up and they are the best backcourt or one of the best in the league …

so if he goes on tv and radio and downplays monta ellis…..always remember that he loved monta ellis….thought he was one of the best players in the league

don’t believe a word fitzgerald tells you ……and yes, it’s very important
because he represents the warriors

nelliesbiggestfan

dr. john

I don’t think fans were disgusted with the warriors during the we believe season and that team was dead last in rebounding differential. be careful when you try to correlate one stat to winning.

bryhsiao

like many said here, Nbf,
I did not backflip or change my stance. I stick with my reasoning why I would prefer having BBass/Landry back then with the context and “qualifiers”.

You can cherry pick all you want.

most posters here can attest I dont just blow hot air without providing stats and observation on how I formed my opinion.

I could be spending so much time to find how Curry did without Monta when there was no site to even provide that data where I went into every single game and collect the stats by hand.

I dont care to be right all the time, but heck I’ve been right a few and also wrong too.
Like Coaching does matter. defense win games. Curry can play PG.
We need a big like BBass/Landry. Monta had to go. Nellie did not coach defense…
Many things I’ve said and many had said here were with reasons regardless if it’s right or wrong eventually.

They are said with reasons and contexts.

You on the other end ……..

You dare to bring up Ezeli again when you haven’t even watched him play 1 min? Phht.

dr_john

I can watch the game.
I can blog the game.
I can play a game of bridge.

But I can only do 2 of the 3.

See ya later…..

pjc18

This is why even though the Warriors had that magical run in 2007, it wasn’t going to last because that team was based on outscoring the opposition, which historically has never translated into long-term success (see Phoenix Suns 2004-2010 and Denver Nuggets in the 80s). This team is based on something more trustworthy: solid defense. Even if the Dubs’ shots don’t fall, like earlier in the season for Klay Thompson, they still stayed in games because of the D. This is a team that Bay Area fans can be proud of.

Sam

believewhat,

I’ll give Thorpe some benefit of the doubt, and Mark Jackson has definitely improved a bit, but when he says the “difference” between this year and last year is the coaching I kind of wonder if he watched any warriors games last year. The roster was completely different. Even the players that we have this year and that play a lot of minutes were either rookies playing few minutes until we tanked or injured.

Our bench has been completely revamped with far far better players and as far as I can tell, Lee is the only starter this year who played more than half our games last season.

Yeah the Jackson coaching team has made some definite improvements, but it is not “the difference” this year.

jsl

strummer writes about DLee: ” JSL [] brought up his ‘they rebound better when he’s off the court’, as if that says anything about HIS rebounding skill, which is pretty good.”

Interesting comment. Entirely unsupported by any analysis. But interesting just the same. Now, a few points:

1. Can you — or anyone — think of another quality big who — every year in his career — sees his team RB better with him OFF the court? I mean, you can blow this off by saying, and I paraphrase, ‘Well, who cares; Lee still RBs well,” but that just ignores the issue.

2. Too often in his career, DLee seemed more interested in getting his numbers than winning games. How else explain why he was almost always a weak link in Q4, when the games were on the line?

3. You look at Lee’s RBing numbers from 2007 on, and ONE thing JUMPS out at you: His RBing numbers (i.e. RBs per game) actually declined every year, and were significantly worse here than in NY.

4. OTOH, this year has been quite different. This year he’s playing better, showing up in Q4, fighting to win, not simply score-RB. And you can see it in his RB numbers, which are now actually UP 20% this year.

I’m loving the DLee we’ve watched the last eight games, in particular. And, despite my constant criticism of his weak D the past two years (he still doesn’t block out like he should), I’ve been extremely laudatory of his play of late.

If he can keep this up, there aren’t too many fours I’d rather have. But until he started playing tougher D, and much better in Q4, there weren’t too many fours who were worse, especially given his contract numbers.

I’m thinking he’s finally turned the corner — and I’m very happy to see it. But that hardly means he was a great four before this year — because he very certainly wasn’t.

gmoney: Fair point in trying to explain why ALL of Lee’s teams – till this year, anyway — RBed better with him OFF the court (i.e. that he plays so much therer aren’t many minutes he’s not on the court).

But I don’t think that washes. First, his mpg over his career is 32 — or less than two thirds of the available minutes. Moreover, even since he became a starter (Year Two), he’s averaged under 36 mpg.

So, there’s been a lot of time for those numbers to appear over his career. As they have.

Now, does anyone know if this “reverse record” of Lee’s is finally NOT his actual, habitual practice this year? I’m guessing tyhat “streak” might well be broken.

monsta

jeez nbf stop. it’s old

Eric

Here comes Lee baby….NBA isnt ready for this dude….

…scotch

“So the variety of topics that sprout up are good, I think”…dr_john @213

Roger that…my intent of course to was to encourage that while getting away from the juvenile stuff.

Eric

This has got the feeling of a shooters game…..Lee has stood out in the paint though?

The kid just knows how to play the game….

Eric

Lee takes a 5 min brake, comes right back in, and lays in another 2….

Looking at you JSL?

How’s Alex?

Let him know that Warriors are very good with Lee, Stupid….

Eric

All you Lee Haters?

TAKE NOTICE….

Believewhat

Lee, Klay and Jack great out there.

Jax again overplaying Curry. How about some Jenkins ?

JarretJackLeader

when you have Jarret Jack playing the point guard you get a guard that produces tough shots and gets his numbers.

so steph cury isn’t that great

10pts and 7 assists for jack …time for fitzgerald to start talking stats whenever jack does something……he does this for curry and lee.

notice bob doesn’t say much or mention number when curry is not doing much…

he’s only likes mentioning the good stuff…never points out the bad stuff

coward

nelliesbiggestfan

the warriors still rebound better with Lee off the court than with him on the court so JSL is wrong again. JSL is really working hard to weasel his way out of this. He’s praising Lee’s play this year, as he must, while trashing his past play to imply there has been some kind of transformation that any reasonable basketball observer may have missed.

That’s all BS. As Strummer accurately posted Lee has the same good game now that he has had all his career. It looks better now because Lee finally has some talent around him. JSL is just fishing for a way out of the deep hole he dug for himself. Best to just give up and admit defeat. He’s looking even more foolish sticking with this crap.

JarretJackLeader

good to say warriors blogger talking about how jack when inserted and jenkins can do just as good as curry in the stats department and leading the team.

it’s not that shocking when you have success when landry and lee are pretty much in a zone..

david lee and landry have 25pts and 12 rebounds combined….and mind you all that landry is coming off the bench….

I think the worst pt guard in the league would be good on this team with the great david lee and landry

it’s all relative people

curry isn’t that great

jarret jack is great

Eric

NBF,

I hate to tell you this, but JSL is a weasel….

bryhsiao

It’s pretty pathetic to see NBF now works with TD. Troll brothers. Way to go.

btw in case you missed it again NBF, Ezeli’s offensive rebounds against ADavis/RLopez and being a huge defensive presence would blow your mind off in this game.

Watch some games, you may learn something.

Eric

How much you guys love Lee now????

Eric

I said 21-10 by new year…. I knew these boys could play. You could see it in Klay last year. This boy wants to be the best….

Loving this team….

GO WARRIORS!!!!

Eric

Watch Out for the Warriors….

Coltraning

A quick report from the game. Odd one…feels like it has been an 8-10 point Ws lead for basically whole game. The Ws did not bring their A game but they don’t seem to need it. Strong games from Lee (as always, it seems) Jack, good shooting from Thompson and Green is an all around beast. Otherwise, nothing special. And yet, the game is theirs unless they fumble it away.

Coltraning

Maybe posted too soon…

Coltraning

HUGE rebound by Green!

monsta

Team almost gagged tonight, bailed out three or four times by the refs.

Still, the game-long 10-point lead and all those boards made a huge difference.

dr_john

chalupa!

Believewhat

Hornets got warriors treatment by refs. 17-6.

monsta

You’re right, strange game. Almost felt like the teams walked through the whole thing, like it was a wedding rehearsal or something.